alrobin

Bob, It might help if you defrag your drives - I was having a problem with the processor running at 100% capacity all the time, and slowing everything down, and when I de-fragmented my drives, the problem disappeared.

I found in some recent tests that I had to set the compression at 30 in IrfanView to obtain the same quality, and same image file size, as for a quality-10 jpeg compression in Photoshop.

Ken, It's worth pointing out, though, that if you want the same quality of jpeg in IrfanView as you would have for the same % quality compression as you would have obtain with Photoshop, you have to set the % at a higher value in IrfanView. It seems to compress down more than Photoshop for the same % designation.

Hi, Kjell, Welcome to PTE and the Forum! I second your request - there are many ways in which PTE could be more flexible In case you haven't heard, in another post, I refer to my Adjustor Model. You can download it from my website at the address shown in the other posting. This model is a spreadsheet in which you can manipulate the timing of your show, and then put it back in a format compatible with PTE. Of course, you also need to have MS Excel 97 or better in order to run it. If you decide to try it and need any help in getting started, drop me an email.

Joe, I, too, come from a multi-projector AV background, using a light-table, and that is why I designed the "dark-table" into my "Adjustor" spreadsheet model. I find it usefull in organizing the slides after they have been imported roughly into PTE. It's best feature is that it then can be used to "export" the revised order back into a list compatible with PTE. (see my separate post elsewhere in the forum, Adjustor ) Unfortunately, at present, the dark-table in Adjustor imports the image files at the same size as used in the show, and then reduces the image size for display purposes on the "dark-table", making the initial setting up rather slow. However, with large shows, it is possible to first create a folder of thumbnails with the same folder and file names as those for the larger images, (using IrfanView, or one of the other thumb-nail programs). These thumb-nail images can then be used by "Adjustor", thus speeding up the process of loading and rearrangement. Then, when the script produced by Adjustor is loaded back into PTE, and the original image folder is renamed back to its original name, the images will be selected in the order desired. The advantage of this procedure over simply using one of the other thumb-nail programs for rearranging the slides is that, in the latter, the slides have to be renamed in order to preserve their order for importing into PTE. This is not so bad if it occurs at the beginning of the show's creation, but it can be a nuisance if there has already been extensive rearrangement, customization, or synchronization applied to the show. The other advantage in using Adjustor in this manner, is that it can also be used for tweaking some of the timing while the slides are being rearranged. This may sound like a lot of complicated work, but for a large show, it is not nearly as time-consuming as trying to sort out the list of slides within PTE, especially when the names in the list on the right-hand side are obscured by long pathnames. Hopefully, Igor will design something similar into PTE in the near future so there won't be the need for these separate utilities.

FTWMBI, I have updated the Adjustor spreadsheet model with a second Dark-Table for those who do not require one with a 400-slide capacity. It is available as a free download from the web site underlined. This second Dark-Table accommodates 252 slides, and can be used at the same time as, and independently from, the 400-slide table previously provided in the Model. Can't let Boxig steal all the attention!!!

Maybe Granot will design an add-on to provide these features!

Thanks, Bill, for your suggestion. That sounds like the best solution to my laptop noise problem. I'll have to give it a try. Guru, I use an external amplification system, too, but it seems to amplify the interference noise as well. But external amplification does improve the "fidelity" of the music through the sound circuitry within the laptop.

Hi, GLS, Welcome to the Forum! I had a similar problem with a "wav" file, being played from a CD. However, I found that the same show ran fine with the same music converted to "mp3". I would have thought it would have been the other way around. Afraid I can't give you a good reason for this anomaly.

Hi, Jeff, Laptops typically do not have the same quality of sound capabilities as achieved with a good-quality sound-card in a desk-top pc. I have a top-of-the-line Dell laptop, and have a problem with noise when I play back the sound track for my PTE shows. I solved this by disconnecting the AC power during the presentation. Another possibility is to use a larger magnetic coil on the ac power-supply cord, to screen out all power-line interference, but it is simpler to just temporarily remove the ac. Another possible source of interference, apparently, is the screen itself, but this should not be an issue since you are displaying via a digital projector. Don't know if this helps, as usually every problem is different. Best of luck!

Welcome to the Forum! You can download MP3 music from the web if you wish, some of which is free, and some of which you will have to pay for. However, I suspect most of us use a sound editor like "Cool Edit" or "Acoustica" or "Cubase", etc., and copy files from tapes or CD's into the pc through a sound-card, or by "ripping" them directly from the CD to a file on the hard drive, and then either use them as is (as ".wav" files), or even better, by converting them (using the same software) to compressed ".mp3" files, in much the same way that you convert "tiff" image files to "jpegs". Hope this helps.

Hi, Bill, The "raw" pte file is the file you save when you "save as" after you have created your show. (I call it "raw" because it is un-compiled. The file name ends with a suffix ".pte" instead of ".exe".

Welcome, Bill You will have to give us a little more to go on, such as whether you are automatically synching the show to the music, whether the music is mp3, wav, or midi, whether you have long transitions (check to see if any are longer than the time allotted to the image, particularly if you are synching the show), the total length of the music, and a bit about your pc system hardware, operating system, etc. Also, are you using a lot of objects along with your images? Also what software are you using to play the music, and are you playing the show from a CD? I haven't used more than two separate music files, but I assume four will not be a problem - you might try to combine them into one file using one of the several sound editing programs such as Cool Edit, Acoustica, etc. Another thing to check is that you have exited from all other background programs before running the show. If you send me your ".pte" file, I will give it a cursory check for conflicting transition timing with my "Adjustor" model (I don't need the image files, or the music files - just the raw "pte" file.) Good luck!

Igor, here is the reference. http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums//index...ct=ST&f=2&t=573 Hope this is the one you were referring to.

Thanks, Guido. It was a lot of fun to develop - I have a few ideas for further features when I can find the time (reduced "dark-table" size as an option, further automation of file management, ability to organize a group of slides before importing into PTE, etc.) I was hoping that if I waited a while to add more features, by then Igor would have added some of them to PTE! :-)

Hi, Dvader, Welcome to the forum and to PTE. PTE is a very versatile program, and there are many useful tricks for having it perform the way one wants. Alan's suggestion is the most reliable way to do what you want. Then, if you still want to autosynchronize differently across the two music selections, you can do so by loading the PTE file into the Adjustor spreadsheet model, adjust the timing so that the number of the transition corresponds with the time of the change to the new music selection, and then "pin" it so that it doesn't change when you have "Adjustor" automatically spread the "delay" times evenly over each selection. You can then go back into PTE and fine-tune the timing so that the change between the two selections occurs exactly where you want. It sounds a little complex, but after playing around with the spreadsheet, the process is really quite straight-forward.

Hi, Arymis313, Boxig has given you good advice - that is really the best way to determine whether PTE is for you or not. Personally, I find that PTE meets most of my digital slide-show requirements. It provides the best "fade/dissolve" of any program on the market - even more expensive ones, and this is the single-most important feature for me, personally. The second-most important feature for my purposes is the ability to drop transitions onto a dynamic time-line in order to synchronize the show to music or narration. PTE is becoming more and more user-friendly, as the designer adds and improves features. While it is a great slide-show program, PTE will not yet provide some of the animated effects which other programs claim to provide, and some actually do provide, after a fashion, such as pan and zoom, and convert to digital video format. However, PTE is still evolving, and may someday even provide these features, especially if there is sufficient demand. But, PTE can be viewed full-screen (provided your images are large enough), is self-contained (no extra software required to play a compiled show), and can be played on a pc directly (and automatically, if desired) from a CD.

Yes, I think this would make the features unsatisfactory in a slide show where smooth transitions are desired.

Welcome to the Forum, Math. Not sure I understand the rationale behind the two items on your want-list. First item: Would this be for your own use in showing images to others, or in an application you would send out to clients? If the former, you can accomplish this by using the "raw" .pte file instead of the compiled file, and displaying the images with the preview button. The list of files in the right-hand window would serve as a "playlist" of images. Second item: This can be accomplished today by inserting buttons via the object editor, and programming them to go to a particular slide, to back up, to go forward, etc., etc. Is this not be satisfactory? Or, are you suggesting a button automatically inserted on the navigation bar for each slide in the show? Would this not become cumbersome in a many-image show? Again, if this for your own use only in making presentations, you can now use the raw .pte file to access individual slides. Just some thoughts - it might help if I understood your individual application better.

Igor, While you are at it, would it be possible to remove the path name from the names of images used in the show when the images are located in the same directory as the ".pte" file? This would solve the problem of not being able to read the image titles when using long, complicated path names. When I remove the path names in "Adjustor", and load the data back into PTE, the full path name automatically reappears.

Skipeye, welcome to the forum. PTE is a great program, but it is not a "be all to end all" - yet. As some members have already commented in previous posts, PTE is intended to be a presentation program to provide the highest quality images with the highest quality transitions possible with current technology. (and a few other features - see Igor's list - such as object programming, etc.). PC implementation, so far, provides the highest-quality images. Therefore, since DVD represents a step down (in image quality at least), you will have to (for the present time) use one of the several other software packages to do DVD. Given the complexity of DVD, what with different formats, codecs, etc., it will be a while, if ever, before this capability is implemented totally within PTE, (IMHO). However, I agree with you that it would be a nice feature to have. To review the past posts on the subject, click on "search", select "past 365 days", and type in "DVD player". You will find all you ever wanted to know about DVD from the many experts on this forum. If you have any other specific questions, please don't hesitate to ask, and someone can either direct you to specific posts where this topic has been covered, or answer your question directly. Ciao, Al

If you click on "Name" at the top of the list of images on the left-hand side of the main window in PTE, you can select how you want the images ordered. Time is one of the options. You can also reverse the order if you wish.

The new version should be OK to use now. I have retained the old file name, PTE_time_adjustor.xls, and it seems to work OK now. Please let me know, when you have a chance to try it, if you have any problems.

I concur with Ian. I have been creating a slideshow with the latest beta, and so far have not experienced any bugs, other than the inconsistencies and suggested improvements to which Ian has referred.

There seems to be a small problem with the new "official" version - probably introduced by the file name change. Please bear with me and continue with the latest beta version until I get this resolved. Thanks